Coupling means for forming loops



Dec. 22, 1942. ,M. L. LINDY 2,306,341

COUPLING MEANS FOR FORMING LOOPS Filed June 10, 1941 INVENTOR ATTORNEYSPatented Dec. 22, 194-2 COUPLING MEANS FOR FORIWING LOOPS Mordie L.Lindy, Irvington, N. J., assignor to The J. E. Mergott Company, Newark,N. 3., a corporation of Delaware Application June 10, 1941, Serial No.397,439

Claims.

The present invention relates to methods and means for forming permanentloops on strap or ribbon-like parts useful in the attachment of suchparts to keepers.

A particular application of this invention is to be found in the quickpermanent attachment of handle straps to handbags, luggage, or the like.In such instance, a handle in the form of a straplike member is attachedto keepers on the bag by looping its ends around the keepers and thenfastening the ends to the body of the strap such way as to formpermanent loops around the keepers. The straps are thus secured to thebags. As substitutes for expedients, heretofore employed for theattachment of handles. applicant has devised simple forms of couplingmeans which serve to effectively attach the ends of the handle straps totheir bodies after loops have been formed around the keepers and whichmay be assembled with the straps in quick and effective manner.

The invention is applicable in any situation where it is desired to forma permanent loop on a strapor band-like part. It is to be understood,therefore, that while the invention will hereinafter be described withreference to a handbag, the wide range of uses and applications justnoted are contemplated.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel, simplemeans for quickly and permanently fastening the looped ends of the stripor strap-like part to the body thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide cheap, simply-manufacturedfastening means that can be applied for use with strapor bandlike partswherever necessary to provide permanent loops on such parts.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of such couplingor fastening means that is capable of producing reliable loopconnections around a keeper.

Yet another object is to provide fastening means which improve theappearance of the joint and which may give ornamental or decorativeeffects to the article with which they are embodied.

Yet other objects are to provide novel methods of assembly of strap-likemembers with keepers and of forming of loops on strap-like parts.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and i such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, this invention consists in the novel methods,construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and thensought to be defined in the appended claims, reference being had to theac- In the accompanying drawing in which similar reference charactersdenote corresponding parts: Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective Viewof a handbag to'which a strap handle has been applied by the use of oneform of coupling member embodied in this invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1illustrating details of the loop and the coupling member and viewed inthe direction of the arrows; I

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one form of blank utilized to form the couplingmember;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the blank of Fig. 5 shaped to anintermediate form just prior to its application a a coupling member;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the manner of assembly of thecoupling member with the strap or band to form the loop;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to that of Fig. 6 illustrating the manner ofassembly of a modified form of coupling member;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to that of Fig. 3illustrating the loop formed with the modified form of coupling member;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8, and

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the form of blank utilized to form themodified coupling member.

Referring to the drawing, I0 denotes a handbag, or any other type ofluggage of any conventional form. This bag It] is provided with suitableattaching rings or keepers I! supported in any well-known manner fromthe bag. In the embodiment shown, they are pivotally supported at l2from the frame L? of the bag.

A suitable handle M is connected to the keepers l I. Herein this handlecomprises an elongated strap or strip i5 of any suitable flexiblematerial or suitable plies of flexible material. In the embodimentshown, multi-p1y construction is used. The upper or outer ply I5 is ofleather and the under or inner ply I5" is of cloth. It is to beunderstood, however, that this member may be a single ply or a pluralityof plies, all of the same material or of any suitable comb-ination ofmaterials which are flexible and capable of being folded or looped. Thisstrip or strap I5 is attached to the keepers II by looping its ends I6around thesaid keepers II and by then fastening the said ends I6 to thebody portion of the strip or strap by the use of suitable attachincoupling members which will now be described.

Figs. 1-6 show one form of coupling means. It consists, as shown in Fig.5, of a channeled member 20 having parallelly extending side walls 2|,22 and a connecting or joining wall 23, constituting the bottom of thechannel. Both the wall 23 and one side wall as 22 are cut away at 24 toform spaced-apart channeled end portions or wings A and B for the memberjoined solely by a connecting portion C of the side wall 2|. The spacingbetween the channeled wings A and B is greater than the width. of thestrip I5, for a purpose to be presently described. It will be noted thatthe vertical axis of the channeled portion A and B extends parallel tothe portion C.

In assembly with a strip I5, a member 25 is placed transversely of thestrip on the ply I5 with its portion C centered and abutting the saidply and the channeled wings A and B facing toward the other ply I5". Themember 20 is then bent around the side edges of the strip I5, as shownin Fig. 6 to bring the walls 22 of the channeled wings A and B intoabutting relationship with the ply I5 forming thus a transverselyextending channel K facing the end I 6 of the strip, and at the sametime embracing the body of strip l5 between the portion of wall 2| andthe walls 22.

The end I6 of the strip I is then looped around a keeper I I andinserted into the transverse channel K. The side walls 2! and 22 of thechannel K are then firmly pressed together clamping the end I6 firmlytherebetween. At the same time, the clamping pressure on the wings A, Bin the position shown in Fig. 6 causes them to clamp the body of thestrip I5 between their walls 22 and the wall 2| of portion C. Thus notonly is the end I5 firmly clamped in the channel K, but the member 20 isfirmly positioned in a fixed place on the strip I5. It is to be notedthat the portion C of wall 25 lies on the upper face of handle I4 inFig. 1 and that the looped end lies on the under side of the handle.

The same procedure is followed at the other end of the strap to attachit to the other keeper II. In this way, the handle i4 is provided whichis permanently secured to the keepers I I.

An alternative coupling means is shown in Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive.Herein, a channeled member 36 is provided. This member has unchanneledcontinuations, flaps, or wings 3| at each end of one of its side walls32. The length of the channeled portion of the member 35 issubstantially equal to the width of the strip or strap I5a. In assemblyof one of these coupling members with the strap, the end I 6a. of thestrap is inserted into the channel M of the member 39. Then the sidewalls 32 and 33 of the member 30 are compressed or collapsed to firmlygrip the end Ilia. The so-provided end is then looped around a keeper IIa and placed in contact with the body of the strip 50. with the member3|! extending transversely of the strip. The unchanneled continuationsor flaps 3| are then bent around the side edges of strip I5a and intocontact with the opposite face of strip I5a to embrace the said strip.Th so bent member is then pressed and bent firmly together to clamp themember 30 to the body 01' said strip |5a as well as to its end I 6a.

The blank U used to form the coupling member 20 of Fig. 5 has theinitial shape shown in Fig. 4. It consists of a sheet of bendablematerial, preferably metal, which is first bent along the dotted linesI, 2 to form the channeled member of Fig. 5, and then further along thedotted lines 3, 4 to form the coupling member illustrated in Fig. 6. Itis to be noted that the portion C of wall 2| is of sufiicient length toaccommodate the width of the strip I5 and permit the folding at 3 and 4about the side edges of said strip. In general, the blank may bedescribed as having U- shape.

The blank T used to form the coupling member 30 of Figs. '7 to 9inclusive has the initial shape shown in Fig. 10. It consists of a sheetof bendable material preferably metal which is first bent along thelines Ia, 2a to form the channeled member 30 of Fig. 7 and then alongthe lines 3a, 4a to form the finished coupling member seen in Fig. 9. Ingeneral, the blank may be described as having T-shape.

One specific advantage of the use of the coupling member of Fig. 5 isthat when the strap I5 is of multi-ply material and the plies are eachdifferent, it is possible to have only the desired ply show on the upperor outer face of the handle I4 and at the same time have an unbrokencrosspiece portion C of the connecting member visible on the top side ofthe handle. This is shown clearly in Fig. 1. On the other hand, if thecoupling member 36 of Figs. '7 to 9 is used with the same strip, eitherthe under ply of material would be visible on the top face of thehandle, or else, if the end were underfolded, the wings 3| would appearon the top surface of the handle and present a discontinuity orunsightly joint at the meeting line of their ends. If continuity of lineof the metal crosspiece is desired, the folded end which is gripped bythe channel walls 32, 33 must lie on the top side of the handle. This isnot objectionable when the material of the strap is all the same. Wherethe strap is of single ply or all its plies are of the same material,the coupling means of Figs. 7 to 10 is equally as effective anddecorative as that of Figs. 5 and 6.

While the invention has been described with reference to providing ahandle for a handbag or luggage, the coupling means can be used with anytype of strip or ribbon-like part which is to be attached to anotherpart by looping around that part or around keepers associated with thatpart. Also it is useful simply for forming secure loops in ribbon orstrip-like parts. There is no intention of limitation as to uses herein.

Likewise modifications of structure and method are contemplated withinthe scope of the appended claims. There is no intention of limitation tothe exact details described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described, a member having a looped endportion and means for securing the end of said looped portion to anotherportion of said member, said means comprising a bendable member havinglongitudinally extending channeled end portions joined by a connectingstrip, said bendable member being bent around said first-named memberwith the latter engaged between said connecting strip and a wall of eachof said channeled end portions, said end lying between the walls of saidchanneled portions and the walls of said channeled portions being bentinto gripping engagement with said end of said looped portion.

2. A coupling member for connecting the end of a loop to the body of thematerial forming the loop comprising a strip of bendable materialprovided with spaced-apart channeled portions at its ends joined by aflat strip-like connecting portion, the latter constitnting acontinuation of one of the side walls of each channel portion.

3. In a device of the character described, a member having a looped endportion and means for securing the end of said looped portion to anotherportion of said member, said means comprising a bendable member havingchanneled end portions joined by a flat connecting strip, saidconnecting strip lying on the uppermost face of said member and saidchanneled portions being bent around and lying on the undermost face ofsaid member with the said member lying between said connecting strip anda wall of each of said channeled portions and said end of said memberlying between the walls of and within said channeled portions, and saidwalls of said channeled portions being bent into gripping engagementwith said end.

4. A coupling member for connecting the end of a loop to a body of thematerial forming the loop comprising a strip of bendable material havinglongitudinally extending channeled portions at its opposite ends joinedby a connecting element, the latter being a continuation of a side wallof each channeled portion, the vertical axes of said channeled portionsextending parallel to said connecting element, said connecting elementbeing longer than the width of said body of material to permit saidchanneled portions to be bent around said body of material and to lie onthe side of the latter opposite that on which said connecting elementlies.

5. A coupling member for connecting the end of a loop to a body of thematerial forming the loop comprising a member having bendable channeledportions joined solely by a fiat connecting portion, the latter being acontinuation of a side wall only of each channeled portion, saidchanneled portions being substantially U- shaped in cross-section andsaid connecting portion being longer than the width of said body ofmaterial to permit said channeled portions to be bent around theopposite edges of said body of material and to lie on the side of thelatter opposite that on which said connecting element lies, the walls ofsaid channeled portions being then bendable toward each other to engageand grip said end therebetween.

MORDIE L. LINDY.

